From Rory to Tristan
by SwimFan06
Summary: It might be a bit odd for Gilmore Girls fans, but I always wondered why Tristan/Rory hadn't had their chance. So, I wrote this fanfic when Rory and Tristan reunite at Yale.
1. Chapter 1: Yale, meet Rory Gilmore

RORY AND TRISTAN

CHAPTER ONE: YALE, MET RORY GILMORE.

_This fanfic takes place when Rory Gilmore starts her first year at Yale (Season Four). _

Rory Gilmore walked in her first college class. She was as nervous as it was humanly possible to be. She was looking for a opening spot, hoping that one in the first row was still available, when someone bumped into her. All of her books fell at her feet. Without even glancing at the person who caused the incident, Rory bend over and gathered her books.

" Mary." Rory heard over her while she was still on her knees. She immediately recognized that snotty little tone.

Books in hands, Rory faced a dirty blonde boy of her history. One that she hadn't think about for a very long time.

" Tristan. Hi." She simply said. She remembered the last time she saw him. His father had decided to pull him out of Chilton and enrolled him in a Military School in North Carolina. She remembered him wanting to kiss her goodbye.

" Fancy running into you here." He smiled they way that he used to when they were at Chilton. That snobby smile of his. She hated that smile as it was the one stuck on his face when he was teasing her.

" Are-are you coming here? To Yale? " Rory mumbled.

" Well, yeah." He quickly answered. " Turned out, Military school was good for me. Never had better grades."

Rory sighed. " And you are taking this class? "

" I wasn't sure about it before, but I think I'll definitely stick around now. " Tristan responded before leaving Rory speechless and still hanging between desks. " See you later, Mary."

Tristan DuGrey. She couldn't believe that the young lazy playful and irresponsible guy that she met years ago at Chilton had been accepted to Yale. Back he was all about pranks and flirting and none about studying and homework. She waited for her first day of college since she could walk. She had lovely memories of her and her mother, Lorelai, talking about how would be the classes, the teachers and the other students. She hoped for this day basically all of her life and now it was going to be spoiled by Tristan DuGrey. She sat as far as she could from him and tried to avoid making eye-contact with him which was particularly hard since the young man was practically staring at her. Felt just like she was back in High School.

Rory Gilmore was glad that her first day at Yale was over. She went back to her dorm room. Although she had spend the night last night, her roommate hadn't arrive yet. She should be here by now though. She took out her set of keys from her brown leather backpack. As she was about to turn the doorknob, she heard a voice coming out of her room. She fixed her light blue top and opened the door.

" Rory! Finally..! " Shouted a too much known of Rory blonde haired girl. " We have a tone of things to talk about! "

The young woman never thought that she would find Paris Geller hanging around posters in her dorm room at Yale.

" Paris. You are my roommate? How did this happen anyways? " Rory asked while dropping her books on her bed.

" I requested you as my roommate." Paris explained as she was pushing Rory's clothes out of the closet. " I'm going to need that bed. " She said, pointing Rory's bed by the window.

Rory was stunted by Paris' presence in her room. She didn't even know that she was coming to Yale. She knew that her Harvard dream had been crushed last spring when she was not accepted to the prestigious university, but Paris never mention wanting to go to Yale.

" Paris, stop." Said Rory to Paris although she was pretty sure she was going to be ignored. " Paris, stop." She repeated.

" Rory. We need to organize this place." Paris explained, still moving everything Rory owned to the other side of their dorm.

" You can't just move all of my stuff, Paris." Rory signed. " You know what you can have this bed if it matter that much to you." She slowly said, siting on her newly assign bed.

" Great." Paris put her hands on her hips. She had cut her long blonde hair during the summer. Her locks were now barely touching her shoulders. Rory wonder what else changed over the last three months that she wasn't aware of.

" You know that we are going to have to talk about that weird poster of yours. It's breaking the balance of the entire place." Paris shouted.

" It's a band poster. How can it break anything, nothing even match here." Declared, Rory. She felt she was getting one hell of an headache.

" But..." Started Paris.

" You know, what? Just throw the poster out, Paris." Rory got off the bed and ran to the hallway. She sat down and crossed her legs. The generic gray carpet of the hallway was tickling her bare legs.

Rory took her cellphone out of her pant's pocket. She quickly dialed the number if the one person she knew would understand.

She nervously waited for an answer. Finally, the person she was hoping for picked up her phone.

" Mom.." Slowly started Rory, has she was about to break down.


	2. Chapter 2: Deja vu

CHAPTER TWO: DEJA-VU.

Talking to Lorelai made Rory felt better last night. Although the next morning she woke up to a super energized Paris Geller. She had a bowl full if fruits cut in pieces and she was mixing them with her quite powerful blender.

" Paris! " Shouted Rory, still half asleep. " Classes don't start for another two hours."

Paris took a a spoon and turned it repetitively into her pink drink.

" I have a lot to do today. I have to dropped ideas by The daily Yale News..." Stated Paris. She took a long sip of her drink.

" But, you aren't even working on the paper..." Said Rory.

" Yet, I'm not on it, yet. But, I'm sure I'll be after I dropped those ideas." Paris declared while stretching around the room.

Rory frowned and got out of bed. She didn't know how she would be able to handle being roommate with Paris for a whole year. She put on a blue cardigan and a pair of jeans before heading to the dorm's room.

" I'm going out for coffee." She declared.

" Coffee makes you less productive." Shouted Paris to Rory as she was getting out the door.

She was walking to a Starbucks stand when she heard someone humming behind her. She didn't pay much attention to it and ordered a tall black coffee. She was about to pour milk in it when the humming got louder. Quickly, she noticed that the song being hum contained only one word; Mary. She turned around to discover Tristan DuGrey bursting in laughter. The young man was wearing a red button down shirt with a par of dark jeans. His dirty blonde hair were messy as usual.

" Tristan. Why am I not surprised that you are making fun of me? That used to be one of your favorite hobby so why would anything be different? " Shouted Rory at Tristan before walking away from him.

Tristan quickly catch up with her.

" Rory! I didn't mean to upset you! I was just playing." He replied, looking confused. " Rory, please stop."

" I can't!" She said, speeding her walk. " Because apparently coffee makes you less productive and it usually have to reverse effect on me. It makes me speedy. " She shouted back at him.

Paris wasn't in the room when she got back in it. She signed in relief as she was happy to have the place to herself for a few minutes. She tried to catch up on her readings, but she found herself thinking about Tristan. She felt bad about overreacting to his silly humming before. When she was attending Chilton, she was used to be picked on by him, but here, at Yale, she was realizing one of her all-time dreams and the last thing she wanted was to be reminded of how hard she worked to fit it when she first can to Chilton. Rory signed heavily, thinking that she probably owned an apology to Tristan for snapping at him.

" C'mon Rory!" begged Paris. " I want to experience the college life. See want all the fuss is about!"

" Then, go. I don't really feel like partying tonight." explained Rory to an overexcited Paris. When she heard Rory's response, Paris started to pout. " I don't want to. I'm scared of going alone." Paris finally admit. Rory raised her eyebrows. In all the the time that she had known Paris, she never heard her say that she was scared...of anything.

" Why would you be scared to go to a party? " Rory asked.

" I don't know those kids. For all I know they could try to get me to join their satanic cult." blurred out Paris while walking in circles. " You have to come with me."

Rory signed. She knew that as long as she wouldn't agree to go with her to that party, Paris wouldn't back-up. She was buying herself some peace by agreeing to go.

" Alright, I'll go change." Finally said Rory to an ecstatic Paris.

" Good." Paris responded, satisfied.

Paris and Rory arrived to a crowded house. There was people everywhere; knocking them with their elbows and their hips. Paris immediately spotted a group of people debating the choice for the country's president. She quickly joined them, stranding Rory. She remembered when Paris spend all of Madeline's party asked her for the time because her parents made her stayed until 10h30. Things sure had change.

As Rory was making her way through the crowd, the young woman tripped on an almost empty keg and a half-a-dozen crushed blue plastic cups laying on the floor. She managed to find a quiet room into the house and sat down on a beer stained couch. She replaced her flowered red dress before opening up her purse to get her book, The Catcher and The Ryer by JD Salinger. She had just started to read it when the room's door cracked open. Rory lifted her deep blue eyes from her book and saw Tristan standing behind the door.

" Rory. Hum, sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you. I'll go." He apologized and processed to close the door.

" No, no. You can come in. I mean if you want to." Mumbled Rory while replacing her brown hair behind her ear.

" Well, I don't know... Are you going to yell at me? " Joked Tristan.

Rory laughed as the young man entered the room. Tristan was wearing a blue sweatshirt and khaki pants. His hair were perfectly messy.

" This is really, hum, deja-vu." Said Tristan while siting next to Rory on the couch.


	3. Chapter 3: Benefit of the doubt

CHAPTER THREE: BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT.

" I know." Said Rory while staring at her book.

" You haven't change a bit, still bringing books to parties." Tristan stated.

" Well, my interest for parties haven't increase, therefore a book is still needed." She explained. " You, on the other hand, seems to have change. How was Military School anyways? " She finally asked.

The young man bust in laughter. " At first, I...pulled out the same kind of stuff I did when I attended Chilton." Rory looked at him. He seemed embarrassed to reminisced his past behavior. " When I realized that their punishment was far worst than Chilton's, I cleaned up my act and learned the value of discipline." He finished.

" Really? " exclaimed the young woman.

" Na!" He admitted, " I'm too much of a trouble maker for that! But, I did learn how to stay out of trouble for a change."

Rory laughed. Tristan really did look like he matured over the last year and a half. She remembered when he caused trouble between her and Paris, over PJ Harvey's concert tickets. He was definitely acting like a spoiled kid back then.

" So what about you, Rory. Still dating that protector of yours? " Tristan asked.

Rory signed. She didn't like to think about her messy break up with Dean because she hated herself for making him suffer the pain of leaving him for Jess.

" Hum, no. It's been over for a while now." She stated. " He is married now." Tristan looked surprise by her revelation. " And his wife isn't me, so." She finished.

" Wow!" Tristan exclaimed, " Couldn't have predict that! "

" Me neither." Rory slowly whispered, realizing that talking about Dean's marriage still hurt her somehow.

Tristan burst in laughter, making Rory jumped.

" What? " Rory shouted, regretting to have give Tristan the benefit of the doubt when he apparently haven't changed at all. There he was making fun of Rory and Dean's break up. How insensitive do you have to be to do that? She couldn't believe that he fooled her into thinking that he matured since they last met, for a minute.

" I was just thinking about how I embarrassed himself in front of Dean at the dance." He explained. " What was I thinking? Fighting for a girl that wasn't even mine..."

Rory giggled nervously. She was so quick to label Tristan as a bad guy. However, considering their history. Who could blame her for being careful?

" You-you..." She mumbled, " You were fighting for me? "

Tristan bite his bottom lip.

" Yeah. I mean, you knew that I had a thing for you." He said while looking at his shoes. " I was just really,_ really_ bad at showing it."

Rory smiled slightly. " Yes, you were."

Tristan laughed is embarrassment off. " I don't think I've got the whole dating-thing down yet, but it's getting there."

Rory glanced at Tristan. It looked like he was blushing which was truly a first for him. The young woman smiled as Tristan stared into her deep blue eyes. Rory had a tickling feeling in the pit of her stomach. She didn't know if it was the funny cocktail that Paris made her earlier or, could it be that she started to warm up to Tristan? No. It couldn't, she tried to convince herself. She didn't liked him back then, she certainly couldn't like him now.

All of the sudden, Paris stormed into the room. " There you are." she stated. " I want to go back to our room." She declared without even looking at Tristan.

Rory got up the couch as did the young man.

" Since when do you need me to do anything, Paris." Asked Rory, stunned that Paris wouldn't leave without her.

" I can't walk alone at night. Don't you know that 2 out of 3 woman get assault while in college. I'm not about to increase those statistics, Rory." Explained Paris, her hands on her hips.

" Got it." Answered Rory, " I'll see you around, I guess." She said to Tristan before joining Paris. The young women slammed to door behind them, while Tristan still stood there alone and amazed that Paris was still the same overachieving driven person.

A few seconds after the girls left, the room door's, where Tristan was in, reopened. Paris glanced slightly at Tristan.

" Hi Tristan." She quickly said before closing back the door.

Paris and Rory were walking home when Rory broke the silence. " Did you know that Tristan was going to be here? " She asked.

" Of course, I didn't." shouted Paris, " If I'd known, I'd probably gone else where."

Rory knew that Paris didn't fancy Tristan since their one date with no follow-up when they were sixteen and the fact that he screwed up their Romeo and Juliet reconstitution before his father pulled him out of Chilton.

" What were you doing talking to him anyways? " Paris asked.

" Hum, you know, just catching up." Rory answered, replacing her hair behind her ears.

" Why would you have any interest in catching up with somebody that you hate? " Continued the young woman as she was speeding her walk.

" I don't know." Simply responded Rory, not knowing why she bothered with Tristan herself.

" You don't like him, right? " asked Paris, stunned.


	4. Chapter 4: Eyes wide open

CHAPTER FOUR: EYES WIDE OPEN.

Rory laughed slightly. " Of course, I don't like him. Don't you remember Chilton and all that crap he put me through? "

Paris nodded.

" So, did you enjoy the party? ", asked Rory, desperate to change the subject.

" I thought it was a very good experience." Paris responded, a smile on her lips. " However, people here aren't very opinionated. They all gave up when things started to get interesting."

Rory laughed. She remembered how Paris was intolerable when she was on her debating team back at Chilton. She didn't blame these people for running away from her.

when Rory went to sleep that night, she couldn't help but think about Tristan. He has been so nice to her at the party. She couldn't even believe that it was the same guy who took her books from her when she wouldn't go out with him. He seemed much more mature and serious now. After all, getting into Yale proved that he had good grades, therefore, he made an effort in his studies which was a big improvement over the old Tristan from Chilton. She caught herself wondering if he had a girlfriend since they parted ways at Chilton, one and a half year ago. She knew that she shouldn't be thinking about Tristan's romantic life but, she couldn't help herself. He didn't seem to be with anyone at the party, otherwise he wouldn't have stayed with her for so long. Thinking back when Paris asked her if she liked him earlier, she wondered why she just didn't say that, she didn't like the Tristan from Chilton but that she didn't know the Tristan from Yale. That would have been more honest.

Rory tossed and turned in her bed while Paris was snoring not far from her. Although, it wasn't the snoring that kept Rory awake. It was Tristan. She'd always figured that nobody could change their paths. She brought her sheets closer to her cold body and she slowly fell asleep.

Rory's cellphone rang around six-thirty am. She forced herself out of bed and picked up her phone. It was her mother, Lorelai. She immediately hit the "talk" button.

" Rory." Lorelai said, " Luke's closed just on the day that I need a coffee the size of my head."

Rory yawned heavily.

" But, its Luke's. Luke's is always open!" exclaimed Rory, quite surprise to hear what her mother just told her.

" Well, not today..." Lorelai whined.

Rory rolled back into her bed with her cellphone still stuck to her ear.

" Get your coffee at the Inn." Suggested Rory.

" It's not Luke's coffee! " Lorelai whined some more.

" Lorelai, get a grip! " She finally shouted.

" Hum, alright.", responded her mother, " So, what's new at Yale? "

" You know, academics' stuff.", Rory responded, thinking about telling her mother that Tristan was at Yale which she have still not did yet.

" I'm disappointed, Rory. How come my flesh and blood isn't wild like her dear mother was? " Joked Lorelai.

" Well, Paris and I went to a party last night..." Started Rory.

" Oh, my!" shouted Lorelai, " First college party, how was it? " she asked.

Rory was torn. She didn't know if she should told Lorelai about Tristan or not. She didn't even know why she hide it from her in the first place. Maybe because she knew that her mother was going to ask a hundred questions and, therefore, made her questions herself about him and she wasn't ready for that yet.

" Well, Paris acted all neurotic, as usual." She declared.

" Did you meet a boy...? " Asked Lorelai, with an annoying high voice.

" No, no, I didn't." She finally let out.

After her morning classes, Rory was starving. She went into the cafeteria and picked up a turkey sandwich that made her nostalgic of Luke's burger in Stars Hollow. She missed it so. She looked for a descent spot in sit. She found a quiet place under a tree where she sat and took out the book she was currently reading.

Across the campus, she spotted Paris. Rory realized that she haven't see her all day. She was gone when her cellphone woke her up this morning. Usually, she was stretching all over the room or was harassing her to read her new ideas for The Yale Daily News or a paper for one of her class. She was surprised, and quite pleased, to have gained a little peace, and their mutual bathroom, in the morning.

Rory quickly noticed that Paris wasn't alone. A tall guy was standing next to her with his arm around her shoulders. The sun was hiding his face from Rory. He was wearing black pants and a blue woolen turtleneck. Paris was particularly smiley for a Friday afternoon. Usually, Paris would be act all frenetic and would be have started packing to go spend the week-end at her parents' house. Rory never saw Paris acted like this before, she looked all happy. Was she even blushing? Rory widen her eyes. Yes, she was blushing. Rory felt like she should cross her calendar with a red pen. It was a once in a lifetime event. Rory laughed. She found it so weird to see Paris acting that way. She wondered if the tall boy was her boyfriend. Paris having a boyfriend already could be possible. Miracles happened everyday after all. The couple walked towards Rory and the boy's face appeared to her very clearly. He had blue eyes and perfectly messy dirty blonde hair and an insignificant smile on his lips. Rory widen her eyes even more; it was Tristan with Paris.


	5. Chapter 5: Speechless

CHAPTER FIVE: SPEECHLESS.

Rory was still stunned by what she saw. Tristan and Paris. Paris and Tristan. No matter how she put it, it was still weird. No. It was beyond weird, it was bizarre. Really, _really_ bizarre. Were they dating? How could it had happen so fast? Just yesterday, Paris told her that Tristan's presence at Yale made her skin crawl. It was so not Paris to fall so fast for someone. Although, it was Tristan, and whether she admitted it or not, Paris always had a soft spot for him. They grew up together and everything.

Rory tried to concentrate on her novel as Paris and Tristan were coming closer to her. She decided to act like she couldn't care less about neither of them, together or individually.

Paris parted from Tristan's gripped and greeted Rory first.

" Hi Rory!" She said, a smile of her face.

" Hey Paris!" She responded, "...and Tristan." She finally mumbled.

" Hello Rory." Tristan greeted the young woman. He didn't look embarrassed the sightless about being found with Paris. But, why would he be?, she asked herself, he didn't owed her anything and neither did she. She could date whoever and however she wanted.

Rory bit into her sandwich so she wouldn't have to speak to either one of them. Tristan leaned towards Paris and told her something that Rory couldn't hear. She laughed slightly.

" So anyways, I got to go. Me and my roommate are throwing a, well, kind of a get together, tomorrow. Do you guys want to come? " Tristan asked.

" We'll be there! " Shouted Paris for the both of them, without asking for Rory's opinion who immediately protested. " But, Paris..."

" We'll be there." Paris repeated, ignoring Rory.

" Great. I'll call you for the address." He said while walking away.

" You have my number! " She shouted back to him as Rory rolled her eyes.

Rory never saw Paris put lip gloss on before tonight. It was quite a shocked to her to see Paris cared about her looks when she never ever did. Yes, she had a boyfriend, but from what Paris told her it was over.

" You look excited about tonight! " Rory said, putting on her black flats.

" I am." responded Paris, brushing her blonde sleekly hair.

" So, hum, you and Tristan seemed...quite friendly this afternoon." Stated Rory.

Paris turned around to face the young woman. She had an unbreakable smile hanging on her lips. The same she had on earlier.

" Well, he apologized for before and, you know, he really seemed to have change. He actually reminds me of the kind boy he was when we were children." She told Rory.

Rory knew that back then and up until high school, Paris had the biggest crush ever on Tristan which might be why she was so bubbly since she talked to him.

" I can't believe that Tristan rented a whole bar for his party! " Exclaimed Rory, while her deep blue eyes widen of surprise.

" He is rich. That's what rich people do." Stated Paris.

Rory had loaned Paris on of her dress and help her with her make-up. If she and Tristan were reconnecting in any way and that it made her roommate so happy, then Rory was also happy. She knew how long Paris had liked Tristan and how much she had wanted to be with him. It seemed like it was finally her time to get her happy ending.

" I guess." Responded Rory.

The girls easily spotted Tristan. He was hanging out with a tall dark haired boy, he introduced as his roommate, Georges. After a brief chat, Rory distanced herself from the group so she could let Paris and Tristan talked in peace. However, as she was fixing herself a drink, she was joined by Tristan.

" Sorry, Mary! " He shouted, as he slightly bumped into her.

" Oh-It's-It's fine." He slowly mumbled.

Tristan poured himself a drink and sipped on it.

" I see you and Paris seem, hum, close." She said while pointing the high maintenance blonde with her chin. " I think its really great! "

" Yeah, I really wanted to make things okay with Paris. I wouldn't want her as an enemy." He explained, laughed slightly.

Rory smiled. She knew how it was to be Paris' enemy and it was anything but easy. She vividly remembered her numerous fights with Paris back at Chilton. She was a though opponent but she also was a faithful friend, as Rory was discovering. Plus, she was one of the smartest person Rory had ever met which was compensating for her extreme personality.

" I was just thinking about that date guys had, a couple of years ago, who could have guess that you would end up liking her after all? " Exclaimed Rory, brushing her hair off of her face.

" Like, might be a strong word for me and Paris' relationship." Declared Tristan, " She is just way too much for me too handle." He joked.

Rory felt her cheeks turning blood-red. She just furious. Tristan hadn't change at all. He was still the jerk he'd always been. Playing with girls' feelings. She saw him flirting with Paris earlier and how pleased Paris was to go to the party to see him. She couldn't believe what she was hearing!

" Of course, you don't like her! What was I thinking? That's what you do, that's what you've always done! Playing with people to get what you want! Not caring about anybody's feeling but yours! " Yelled Rory to Tristan, before running outside.

Tristan followed her out to the street and chased her.

" Rory! Could you just tell me what happened back there! " He shouted at her.

Rory was just too furious to converse with Tristan. Just looking at him made her anger increase considerably. She just wanted to get any from him. As far as possible.

" Nothing. You did nothing." she finally said, " You just are being to spoiled brat you've always been." She finished as she left Tristan speechless in the streets.


	6. Chapter 6: Overreaction

CHAPTER SIX: OVERREACTION.

Rory slept really bad that night. She had waited up for Paris to come home until two in the morning, but Paris failed to show. Finally, around three, Paris entered the room. Rory was sleeping, but the noises Paris made woke her up slightly. She rolled off her stomach and saw Paris taking off her shoes, a smile still stuck to her face. Rory thought of how bad it was going to be when she was going to tell her that Tristan didn't like her after all. Paris was going to crushed and mad, and then, furious. This week was going to be hell for Rory. She would have to put up with her roommate's anger.

When she woke up, around ten in the morning, Paris had already left their dorm for her parents' house for the week-end. Rory wanted to talk to her before she left but, as she was noticing Paris' absence, the big talk would have to be postponed. The young woman got up, and took and quick shower before opening her dresser. She choose to wear a pair of dark blue jeans, a dark long sleeves shirt and a gray woolen sweater. She repetitively brushed her long brown hair and tied them into a ponytail. After, she took her blue suitcase from under her bed and filled it with a choice of clothes and her personal products for the week-end. She was rolling her suitcase down the hall when she crossed paths with a familiar face; Georges. She had met the young man last night at Tristan's party. He was his roommate if she recalled correctly.

" Hey!" He said, smiling, " You are Tory, right? "

Rory shook her head.

" It's Rory..." She simply responded.

" You are Paris' roommate, uh? " Georges said. He seemed to be in a particularly good mood for a Saturday morning.

" Yes, yes I am." Rory stated, " So, what are you doing here so early? " She asked, as she was surprise to see a guy in a all-girls' dorm.

" I'm picking up my sister. She lives here and we are going home for the week-end. You seem to be too..." He said, while indicating her suitcase.

" Yeah..." Rory looked at her feet as she was uncomfortable because she wanted to leave while he looked like he still wanted to chat. " I have a long drive ahead, so I better get going..."

" Yeah! Me too." Georges admitted. " Would you say hi to Paris for me when you see her..? " He asked, looking almost shy.

" Sure. I'll do it, Georges." She answered as she continue her way out of the building. Georges also went his way down the hallway.

When she arrived in Stars Hollow, everything felt so warm and comforting that she almost forgot yelling at Tristan in the middle of the street the night before. Lorelai welcomed her home with a usual visit to Luke's where she filled her on everything she had missed during the week.

After eating pancakes and taking way too much coffee, Lorelai and Rory walked down the streets of Stars Hollow. They stopped by Moose's to get groceries for their movie night before heading home; on their way, they crossed paths with Dean and his new wife, Lindsay. After exchanging awkward greetings, Rory and Lorelai finally got to their house.

" Rory, I'm missing my pal, here! " Said Lorelai, after spending the day with an almost silenced Rory.

" Hum, sorry. I just got stuff on my mind." Responded Rory while tossing her brown hair.

" Well? What are you waiting for? I looooove listening, you know that! " Finally told Lorelai while executing one of her finny dances.

" Hum, it's just Paris' stuff. Boring." Admitted Rory, taking a piece of candy and observing it while her mother was still dancing.

" C'mon Rory! The borer, the better." Insisted Lorelai.

" Alright! But, only if you stop the dancing! " Rory said.

Rory's mother immediately sat next the her daughter, on the couch. Then, she handed her a giant bowl of buttered popcorn. Rory took a handful and jammed it in her mouth. She has immediately imitated by Lorelai.

" Well, Paris met that guy who she thought was into her, but then it turned out, he didn't liked her." Explained Rory, extending her arm to reach a slice on pizza.

" That sucks for Paris, but what does it have to do with you, hon'...? " Wondered Lorelai.

" You remember Tristan DuGrey, from Chilton? " Asked Rory, carefully.

" The "Mary" guy? " Responded Lorelai while raising her eyebrows.

" Yes. He is the guy." Explained Rory.

" Oh. And Paris likes him?...Again? " She said, apparently surprised.

" Yes, and he is pulling the same kind of behavior he did back then! " Explained Rory.

" Which was? " Asked Lorelai.

" Pretending to like her to get what he wants." Explained Rory, " The whole thing is just sickening."

" How do you even know that it was what he was doing, Rory? " Lorelai asked.

" I just saw them together, acting all friendly and then, he just told me that he wasn't into her." Rory told her after finished her pizza's slice.

" Well, did Paris told you that she wanted to be with Tristan? " Asked Lorelai.

" Hum, no..." Rory realized, she didn't even know for sure that Paris wanted something from Tristan in the first place. " Oh my god! " She said, jumping off the couch, " I just made a complete fool of myself! I can't believe it! "

" Rory, calm down. So you jumped to conclusions... Big whoop! " Explained Lorelai to Rory, squeezing her arm.

" No, no, mom. You don't understand! I yelled at him! " She shouted.

" Who? " Asked her mom.

" Tristan! I yelled at him in the middle of the streets! " Rory declared.

" Rory, since when are you yelling at people for no reason? " Asked, Lorelai, surprise by her daughter's reaction.

" I don't know! I just thought that he had change and It made me so mad when I realized he didn't..." Declared Rory.

" Could it be that you were starting to like him, therefore the overreaction, because you were disappointed...? "

Rory looked at her mother. She couldn't bring herself to answer her mom, because she didn't want to have to think about the true motive of her little melt-down.


	7. Chapter 7: Pretty Sure

CHAPTER SEVEN: PRETTY SURE.

Rory's mouth hanged open for a minute. She knew that her mother's questioning was legit, but she really didn't want to answer it. How could she like Tristan DuGrey. He was everything she hated about guys; arrogant, spoiled, rich and vain. She hated that and she was pretty sure she hated him. Although, it was the "pretty" part of that thought that was bugging her.

" Mom! You know I don't like Tristan. Didn't complained enough about him in the past to make that clear? " Stated Rory.

" Rory...It wouldn't be wrong if you liked him now. You guys were just kids back then. You grew up and so did he." Explained Lorelai to Rory. " He could have really change, you know."

" I know. I-I just don't think he did." She said, to convince herself more than to convince anybody else.

" Okay, it's just..." Lorelai began.

" It's nothing, mom. Really. I just-I just overacted. Most be stress. It won't happen again." Rory declared.

Rory went to bed exhausted. She had want to call Paris so bad last night to know the truth but she didn't want her mother to think that she was obsessing with that story about Tristan. She would have gone on and on about how she liked him. Rory knew that she didn't because she just couldn't like somebody like him. She was just worried about Paris. Yes, she told herself, I'm just worried about my roommate who is possibly getting played. That's all. There really was no need to stress over anything else but Paris' happiness. Rory closed her beautiful blue eyes and wished to fall asleep fast so she wouldn't have to think anymore. Quickly, her wish was realized.

On Sunday afternoon, Rory started packing. She wanted to get to Yale early because she knew that Paris was always coming back to the dorm early as she hated spending too much time at her parents'. Lorelai told Rory that she wished she spend the night and drive back to Yale Monday morning, but Rory was determined to get there tonight.

Lorelai and Rory had breakfast at Luke's around eight am. He was wearing his usual get-up; flannel shirt and baseball cap. Rory and her mom passed the time by watching Luke loose his temper over Doose's constant harassing about putting autumn's decorations in his diner. It turned out to be quite amusing. Rory ate two plats of french toast while Lorelai took eggs with a side of beacons. The rest of the girls' day was spend separately. Rory wanted to see Lane, so Lorelai dropped her off at Kim's antic. She spend all afternoon with Lane.

" So, how do you like Yale so far? " Lane asked.

" I love the classes and, my living arrangement aren't that terrible..." Explained Rory

" Do you live with Paris? " Exclaimed Lane, surprise.

" Turns out, Paris isn't that bad. I'm pretty much used to her now..." Responded Rory, thinking about how good she was getting at dealing with the Paris' situation.

Lane Laughed. She was sure that Rory' life with Paris was better than her life, going to college in Hartford and helping her mother at Kim's Antic at night.

" Tell me about the guys at Yale? " Asked Lane.

Rory shyly smiled, tossing her hair.

" Well, There some really smart guys in my classes... " Responded Rory.

" Anyone that stands out? " Lane finally asked, widening her eyes with interest.

" Hum, Not really...not yet, at least." Rory finally responded, although she was wishing Lane never asked her that question.

Lane smiled.

Driving back to Yale was very frustrating for Rory. She anticipated her talk when Paris as much as she couldn't wait for it. After she parked her car, Rory walked straight to her dorm room, suitcase in hand. She dragged it upstairs and rolled it into the hallway. When she arrived in front of her dorm's door, she noticed that it was cracked opened. She figured that Paris was already in the room. She pushed it open gently and she discovered behind it; Paris kissing a boy. Rory widen her eyes, surprise by what she was seeing. She just couldn't...


	8. Chapter 8: The Return Of The Spoil Brat

CHAPTER EIGHT: THE RETURN OF THE SPOILED BRAT.

" Jamie! " Shouted Rory, surprise to see Paris kissing her ex-boyfriend.

Paris had dated Jamie during their senior year. Although, when Paris showed up at Yale, she informed her that she and Jamie had broke up over the summer. The main reason for the break up was the distance separating Princeton from Yale. Paris told her that Jamie resented her for wanting to go to Yale when she was accepted to Princeton and by attending Jamie's university, they could have been together all the time. While Paris told Rory that she was totally over Jamie. Rory had suspected that she was as over as she said she was. Over the first few weeks of school, Paris couldn't have been so neurotic without a reason. However, when Paris started to meet up with Tristan she thought that her instant happiness was due to him, but, she was clearly wrong.

" Rory, nice to see you again! " Greeted her Jamie, unlocking his lips from Paris'.

" Yeah...nice to see you, too." Rory mumbled, as shocked as she could possibly be.

Paris whispered something in Jamie's ear which made Rory feel immediately uncomfortable. She was about to excuse herself when she saw Jamie grabbed his jacket and put it on.

" I got to go. I have to drive back to Princeton before it's get too dark outside." Said Jaime, squeezing Paris' arm like he didn't want to let go.

" He hates to drive in the dark." Explained Paris, smiling uncontrollably at Jamie.

Jamie kissed her quickly on the lips, grabbed his leatherette brown backpack and headed to the girls' door's dorm.

" I'll call you tomorrow night..." He said before closing the door behind him.

" I'll wait by phone! " Paris shouted as she let herself fall on her bed, looking as happy was she could ever be.

Rory sat by her side. She still couldn't believe that Paris and Jamie were back together. She was expecting anything. Anything but that.

" So, you-you are back with Jamie, uh? " She mumbled.

" Yes! " Paris almost yelled, " I'm so happy! "

" How did it happen anyways? " Asked Rory to an almost abnormal Paris.

" Well..." Started Paris, " You know that guy, Georges, from Tristan's party? "

" Yes, I remember him." Responded Rory, remembering that when she last saw Georges he had ask her to say_ hi_ to Paris.

" He transferred from Princeton last semester and it turns out that he was good friend with Jamie. At the party, Georges revealed to me that Jamie told him that he regretted our break up. Deep down, so was I. I left the party early and called him. We talked all night and decided to get back together." Explained Paris to a very attentive Rory.

Rory didn't blink while Paris told her how she resumed her relationship with her ex-boyfriend.

" Good. I'm happy for you. Jamie is great." Said Rory, getting off Paris' bed and starting to unpack her blue suitcase. " I guess you owe a big fat thank you to Georges, uh? "

" Not at all! " Responded Paris.

" Well, I know you were never the grateful kind but..." Started Rory.

" Funny and clever." Paris interrupted her, " But, if I had to really thank somebody that would be Tristan." She finally explained.

Rory jumped of surprise.

" W-why? " She mumbled.

" When he came to apologized to me. He mentioned that his good friend Georges knew Jamie and he kind of investigated for me. After, he introduced me to Georges at the party." Explained Paris.

Rory was shock by Paris' revelations. So Tristan was the nice guy who made it all happen and she accused him of being a spoiled little rich brat. She felt so bad. She couldn't even start to explain how bad she felt. Without saying another word to Paris, Rory stormed out of the dorm. She ran directly to Tristan and Georges' place. She was standing outside of their place, wanting to ring to doorbell but being too scared to do it. She was so ashamed thinking how badly she treated Tristan. She pointed her finger to the doorbell in the intention to ring but she stopped herself. She couldn't just walk in there and ask for forgiveness and that horrible scene. He would just laughed in her face. Or he would slammed the door in her face. Why was she caring so much about what he was thinking about her? As she was asking herself that question, Georges opened the door.

" Rory! " Greeted her Georges, " What are you doing here? "

" I-I was just in the neighborhood..." Rory mumbled.

" Oh." Exclaimed Georges.

" Hum, is-is Tristan here? " She asked, loosely.

" Well, yes." Georges answered, " Do you want to see him? "

" Hum, yeah, yeah. Why not? " Rory chuckled, nervous.

" Okay, I'll get him." He responded.

Georges climbed upstairs and, Rory heard him and Georges conversing for a little while although she couldn't catch any words of their discussion. She was thinking about leaving before Tristan came downstairs. Her palms were sweating as she was waiting.

Tristan walked downstairs and appeared next to Rory. He was wearing dark jeans, a v-neck green sweater and tan shoes.

" Rory..." Started Tristan, " Look if you came here..."

" Tristan..." Interrupted Rory, " I-I just came here to talk. If you- if you are available? "

Tristan rolled his blue eyes. He smiled slightly.

" Look, we already stated that I was a spoiled brat, so I don't see what else we would have to talk about..." He said, looking as detached as he could possibly be.

" Tristan...I-I..." Mumbled Rory, not knowing what she was thinking coming here in the first place.

" What do you want, Rory? " He shouted looking irritated.

Rory's lips started to tremble. She felt her eyes watering. She signed heavily and replaced her hair behind her ear.

" I'm sorry. I was wrong about you. I won't bother you anymore." She quickly said, before fleeing Tristan doorstep.

Tristan chased her down the streets. He caught up with her almost immediately.

" Rory, its cool." He said, squeezing her arm gently.

Rory bit her button lip and tossed her brown hair.

" We are going to be okay, Mary." Tristan said before he and Rory burst in laughter.


	9. Chapter 9: Dark Haired Guy

CHAPTER NINE: DARK HAIRED GUY.

Spending time with Tristan wasn't as bad as Rory thought it would be. Lately, they had been studying together at the library, getting coffee between classes and siting together in class. Rory was even spending more time with him than she did with Paris. She had been the first one to be surprise to enjoy the times she was in the company of her old Chilton's enemy. She found herself wanting to be more and more with him. Rory had realized that he really had changed. He was smart, funny and quite caring, but still cocky, seductive and mysterious.

One night, after a late studying session at the Yale library, Tristan walked Rory to her dorm. He was oddly quiet. Usually, he was babbling about the newest gossips around the campus or the latest conquests of his roommates, but not tonight. Rory gazed at him. Tristan seemed uncomfortable. He was wearing a burgundy woolen turtleneck and a pair of dark jeans. He nervously ran his fingers in his dirty blonde hair. " Are you okay? You seemed, I are acting, really, awkwardly...", Rory said when they arrived at Rory and Paris' dorm. Tristan gasped.; " I, hum...", Tristan started, " Look, Rory..." Before he could finish his sentence, Paris slammed the door open. She face was covered in tears. " Rory! ", she cried. " What's going on, Paris? ", Rory responded, as Paris fell into her arms. " Jaime. He...", she mumbled behind her tears. " He..." Rory glanced at Tristan. He looked as clueless as she was. " He...had sex with another girl! ", Paris finally revealed. " What?! ", Rory said, shocked. She turned to Tristan; " I've got to take care of...this.", she said. " Yeah, yeah. Sure. I'll, hum, see you guys later.", he replied before leaving.

" I can't believe that Jaime cheated on you. It's so out of character for him! ", Rory told Paris when they got into their room. " He did.", Paris said, " He slept with his criminal law's teacher." Rory was stunned; " Really? ", she asked, almost not believing what she was hearing. " She is in her forties! ", shouted Paris before she started to cry hysterically, again.

Rory spend the night listening to Paris' tragic story. In the back of her mind, however, she was wondering what Tristan was about to tell her. He seemed bothered by something. Maybe he was getting tired of her. Maybe he thought she was annoying. They had been seeing each other almost everyday since the night she had apologized to him, two weeks ago. Rory was having fun, but maybe he had grow bored of her.

The next day, in class, Rory could barely keep her eyes open. " Hey.", Tristan said, dropping her bag-pack on the desk next to hers, " You look wasted." Rory shook her head; " I am not wasted, Tristan. I am tired.", she said. Tristan smiled; " Your eyes are all red." She sighed; " That's because Paris kept me up all nigh, talking about Jaime and his affair with his criminal law teacher.", she revealed. " Really? ", Tristan said, " His teacher? " Rory simply nodded. She was tired, yes, but she was still thinking about what Tristan almost told her last night. " So, hum, we were kind of cut last night. I felt like you wanted to tell me something...", Rory said. " Shh.", Tristan said, " Class is starting." Rory rolled her eyes at him. Like he was the one to follow the rules. If she remembered correctly, he was more for breaking them. At Chilton, if he made it to class, it was a miracle. Now, at Yale, Tristan was not only showing up, but he was scoring the same grades as Rory. She should have been offended, but she was having fun competing with him. After a little while, Tristan passed her a note. Cautiously, Rory unfold the tiny piece of paper. Tristan had written; " Coffee, tonight? ". Rory glanced at Tristan. She was so tired, but she hadn't class in the afternoon, she was could take a nap and have coffee with him tonight. She nodded in his direction, agreeing to his proposition.

Rory closed her eyes, hoping she would fall asleep immediately, which she did. Rory had set her alarm clock for eight, which is when she was suppose to meet Tristan at the campus coffee shop. However, when she woke up, her alarm hadn't ring and it was almost nine o'clock. " Nine! ", Rory shouted, " Oh, no! " She grab her blue sweater, hanging on her desk's chair. She put it on while running downstairs. When she arrived at the coffee house, Rory was out of breath. Siting at a table, with a coffee in front of him was. He was wearing a dark gray button down and black jeans. Rory had to admit; he was looking quite handsome... for a late coffee with a classmate. She ran her fingers through her hair in a desperate attempt to replace them.

" Hey.", she said, before siting at Tristan's table. " Is it eight already? ", he joked. " I'm sorry. I over-slept, I guess.", she explained. He didn't seemed to mind. The waitress stopped at their table and asked them if they wanted to order anything. Rory asked her a black coffee and Tristan asked a refilled. He also asked her to make them to go. " To go? ", Rory asked, suspiciously. " Yeah, I thought we could walk around the park.", he suggested, " It could be...nice." Rory nodded, " Hum, okay. Great." A couple of minutes later, the waitress showed up with their two coffees. Rory took out her wallet. Tristan stopped her; " I've got this.", he said. It was out of character for Tristan to do something like this. Usually, they payed for their own drinks and hang out at the coffee shop. Looked liked tonight was going to be different.

Rory and Tristan were walking in the park. The darkness of the place, was brighten by the lights hanging in the trees. Rory threw out her empty coffee in the garbage. " You dress-up.", she said to Tristan, " Do you have a date after this? " Tristan giggled. " No, hum, I just really like that shirt.", he responded, " Can, hum, can we sit? " Rory and Tristan sat on a bench, facing Rory's dorm. Tristan stretched, he seemed nervous. Rory gasped. " So, about last night," he began, " what I was trying to say." As Tristan was talking, Rory noticed a figure in the dark approaching the dorm's entry, from afar. When the figure got lighten up under one of the spots of the dorm, a boy with mid-long dark hair, wearing a black leather jacket, appeared. " Rory?! ", Tristan said, " Are you listening?! " Rory couldn't keep her eyes off of the guy. He seemed, familiar. " Hum, what?! ", she said, " Of course, I'm listening." The dark haired boy turned around and lighted up a cigaret. Rory recognized him immediately; it was Jess Mariano.


	10. Chapter 10: Jess

CHAPTER TEN: JESS.

Jess Mariano. Rory hadn't see Jess since the bus ride incident and she hadn't talked to him since the presumed phone call where she poured her heart out to him. After that, anger and sadness had stopped her to try to contacted him again. Until now, she thought that she was over Jess, but seeing him, standing there. She wasn't so sure anymore. She was hearing Tristan's voice in the background, but his voice seemed to be far away even if he was siting right next to her. Few seconds later, Jess's eyes crossed hers. She got lost into them, reliving every bit of their short but intense relationship.

Tristan touched her arm, bringing her back to reality instantly. " Rory," he said, " do you know that guy? " She turned to her Yale classmate; " What-Which guy? ", she replied. Tristan cleared her throat; " The one walking up to us...", he said, pointing Jess with his chin. Rory looked up and saw her former boyfriend come in their direction. Something inside of her snapped. She couldn't face Jess. Not here. Not now. Maybe not ever. She got off the bench. " I'm-hum-I'm so sorry.", she shouted before running off. " Rory, where are you going...? ", She heard Tristan asking form afar. Rory, by running away, left Jess and Tristan, hanging by her dorm, wanting to be with her both. Yet, she might have lost them both, she thought, as she was already regretting taking off the way that she did.

The next morning, Rory didn't get out of bed. She had sneaked into her room, around midnight. She waited until both guys left the area to come back, after walking around for hours. Yes, Rory want to avoid both Tristan and Jess. Tristan because she felt so bad about bailing on him after not even listening to half of want he was saying, and Jess, well, the Jess thing, was way more complicated than that. She had lied awake in her bed, all night, wondering about the reason Jess had came to Yale. Did he wanted something from her? Of course, he did. Why else would he be waiting at her dorm's door at nine-thirty at night? Rory didn't go to her class that day. Paris neither. They pinned together.

Tristan had called her a couple of times, but she wasn't answering yet. She wasn't feeling ready to face reality. She didn't even know if Jess was still at Yale. She hoped he wasn't. Or, he hoped he was. She still wasn't so sure. He hadn't called her, though. It was totally Jess. Unpredictable. Paris entered the room, as she was thinking, yet again, about Jess. " Guess who I ran into? ", she said, " I'll tell you; Jess." Rory faked surprise, since she hadn't tell Paris about him. " Jess...", she said. Paris raised her eyebrows; " Jess, your ex-boyfriend." Rory took her hairbrush ans started to brush her brown hair. " Really? " Paris smiled, " He said he tried to reached you, but that you sort of fell off the face of the earth.", Paris revealed. Rory just stood there, without saying anything. " I've got to get ready for class.", she said, before grabbing her shower kit and leaving the room to go to the community washroom. After taking a quick shower, Rory got back to her room in her bathrobe and sleepers. She put on a light pink button down and a pair of jeans. She slid her bag-pack on her shoulder and left the dorm. She didn't have a class with Tristan today, so she would just have to avoid him in the hallways of Yale.

Of course, Rory wasn't excepting to find Tristan siting in the steps, leading to her room when she got back from class. " Hi, Mary.", he said when he saw her. Rory sighed; " And we are back to Mary.", she said, " I must have done something wrong." Tristan stood up, sneaked his hands in his jeans' pockets. " I..don't get what happened, the other night.", he started, " Who-who was that guy? " Rory took a deep breath; " It, hum, it was Jess. We used to...date.", she admitted. " Oh...", Tristan said, " Okay, I-hum- I'll see you in class, I guess."

Rory knew that she couldn't escape Jess for a very long time. He corned her when she came back from a study date with Paris that night. " Jess.", she said, trying her best not to lose her cool. " Rory.", he responded. Jess Mariano was the same. Yes, he had long hair now, a new jacket and a beard, but he was still caring a novel in his jeans' back pocket. " You look...", he started, before Rory cut in; " I'm good. Very good, in fact.", she said. Jess looked down at his boots. " Look, Rory. I just-I want to talk to you." All of the sudden, Rory got mad. Jess wanted to talk. He ditched her, left town, didn't took her to the prom, didn't even broke up with her and, now, he wanted to talk. He had no rights to ask anything from her. " You want to talk?! ", she shouted, " Well, that's new! " Jess got closer to her, " Rory, I've been thinking about you a lot lately...", he said. " Maybe you should have think about me before! ", Rory started to walk around. Her head was spinning. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. " You left, Jess.", she shouted, " You just left! " Jess stood there, without saying anything. " I know that I screwed everything up, back then.", Jess admitted. " Yes. You did.", she said, " You ruined us. You ruined everything! " Rory started to walk away. She was just wanted to get away from him. From every single pain he caused her. From every single minutes she wasted loving him. " I miss you...so much.", Jess whispered. Rory froze. She just stopped moving. She wouldn't move. She couldn't move. Jess' words were pounding into her brain. She had wanted him to say those words for so long and now, here he was, saying them.

Rory felt like she was out of her body. She turned around, walked up to Jess and kissed him, passionately. He kissed her back and old on to her, tight. His embrace had Rory feel so comfortable, so familiar. She didn't want to let go. When Jess ran his fingers into Rory's hair, she found herself going back to a couple of months ago, when she was head over heels in love with him.


	11. Chapter 11: True Friend

CHAPTER ELEVEN: TRUE FRIEND.

Suddenly, Rory backed away from Jess. Without a word, she entered her dorm and, with shaky legs, climbed the stairs. She couldn't even think, it was like her mind went blank all of the sudden. Just like when she was kissing Jess. She could see herself doing it, but she couldn't understand why she did it. She thought she was over Jess. But, seeing him. Being with him. It was so overwhelming. It was too much for her right now. You couldn't think about it. When she finally made it into you room, she crashed on her bed and fell asleep right away.

The next morning was hard. She felt hungover even she hadn't drink at all. She kept on thinking about events of the night before. The kiss. Jess and her kissing. Just like the pass months didn't happen. Just like she and him never broke up. Just like the were back in Stars Hollow. She wanted to call her mother so bad, but she knew how much Lorelai hated Jess. If she learned that Rory had kissed Jess, she would probably be disappointed in her, considering how badly he treated her all through their relationship.

Rory ordered a large black coffee at the campus coffee shop. There, she ran into Tristan. She almost spilled her beverage on his white tee. " Hey! Watch out, Ror'! ", he shouted, " This stuff is really hot." Rory, nervously, tossed her hair behind her shoulder. She felt like things were awkward with him now. " I really hate it when you call me Ror'. It's like the nickname of a nickname. It's awful.", she said. Tristan laughed, slightly. They ahead to the door, together. " What, that-hum-ex-boyfriend's of yours, doesn't call you Ror'? ", he asked. Rory cleared her throat; " No. That would be an understatement to say that he would go for that kind of cliche." Tristan glanced at her. His eyes were so clear, like they had never been before or maybe she was only noticing now. " Is-hum-is he still here? ", he asked, loosely. Suddenly, Rory's phone started buzzing. She took it out of her pocket and an unknown number flashed on her screen. " I'm sorry.", she told Tristan before pressing the "accept call" button on her phone. " Hello? ", she said. " Rory? It's Jess." Rory's heart started to beat faster. Where did he get her phone number anyway? " Jess? ", Rory responded, " What-hum-what's up? " She could hear Jess breathing at the other end of the line, he was saying anything, just like that day he called her at her graduation. " Hum, I was wondering, if we could meet? ", he asked. Rory didn't know if she should agree to meet him or not. Thinking about it, she left him there after kissing him, last night. " When? ", she responded. " I was hoping we could get together, today." Rory didn't know what Jess wanted to talk about, or even if she had something to say to him. She only hoped that he wasn't going to question her about the kiss, because, honestly, she didn't know what she was going to tell him. " Hum, well, okay."

She met Jess at a Coffee Shop named The Crew, outside of campus. When Rory arrived, she couldn't help but notice that Jess was even more handsome in the day light than he was at night. He was reading _Ulysse_, while sipping on a latte. When he saw her, he put is novel away. " Rory.", he greeted her. " Hey, Jess.", she said, siting down. " Do you, hum, do you want something? ", he asked, " No, I'm good." Rory and Jess glanced awkwardly at each other. " It's awkward, isn't it? ", Rory said after a while. " Yeah.", he responded, reminding Rory that he was a man of few words. " How did you find me, anyway? ", she asked. " Luke.", she said, " I was surprised to heard that you were at Yale. What happened to Harvard? " Rory cleared her throat; " It's a long story, Jess.", Rory replied, " What about you, how did Venice Beach worked out for you? " Jess smiled slightly; " Pretty good, actually." Rory smiled back at him. " What are you doing here, Jess? ", she finally asked. " I, hum, I'm writing my first novel.", he explained, " It's mostly about you, I mean, us." Rory's eyes widen. " You own novel. That's really_ really_ great, Jess." The young man sighed; " Anyway, writing made me realized some things.", he started, " I-hum-We had a something good and I ruined it in every way possible." Rory couldn't help but stare at him. " Jess...", Rory began. " I can write anywhere, you know." Jess said, " In California...or here. I think I could like it here." Rory was stunned. She couldn't believe that Jess wanted to move here, for her. A few months ago, she couldn't have get him to take their relationship seriously, but now, he was wiling to change states to be with her. The question was; is it what she wanted?

After meeting with Jess, Rory was more mixed up than ever. She had loved Jess Mariano, maybe more than any other boy. Yes, she loved him. The question was; was she still in love with him? The way their relationship ended, there was a lot of unsolved issues and feelings between them. Jess was staying for a couple more days, it gave her a little time to think about what the conversation they had earlier. She had told him that she needed some time to think. She was afraid that there wasn't enough time for her to make up her mind. She had never been so mixed up in her entire life.

The next day, Rory decided to look for Tristan on campus. She felt like she owned him an apology for leaving him hanging the other night, and this morning. However, Tristan was nowhere to be found. So, she decided to drop by his house. George let her in as Tristan was in the shower. He showed up, minutes later, his hair wet, wearing an olive t-shirt and a pair of khaki trouser. " Rory.", he said, " What are you doing here? Is something wrong? " Rory had originally come here to apologized to Tristan, but she also really needed to talk to somebody about Jess. Over the past few weeks, Tristan had showed her that he was a true friend, she felt like she could trust him. " Do you want to take a walk? ", she finally said. Tristan looked surprise, but he agreed to join her.

After they had walked for a while, Rory apologized to Tristan for her odd behavior. He accepted them gladly. " So, what's up? You seem, preoccupied...", he said. " Ah. The past is coming back to haunt me! ", she admitted. " That ex-boyfriend of yours is_ creeping_ his way back into your life? ", he said. " Sort of.", she said, " Jess and I, we had a _very _complicated relationship." Tristan sighed; " You know what's your problem? ", he asked. " You are too cerebral, Rory." She raised her eyebrows; " What? Just because I have a mind and uses it..." Tristan cut her off; " That's not what I meant." Rory frowned; confused about what Tristan was implying. " Go with your guts! ", he finally said. Rory raised her arms in the air; " Go with my guts. C'mon, Tristan. Everybody always say that, but they never do." Tristan crossed his arms on his chess. " Well, I do.", he said, " That's how I make all my decisions. That's how I ended up here, in Yale." Rory didn't believe that Tristan was that daring. " Like, I said, it's easy to say it. Act on it is something else." Tristan and Rory stopped in front of her dorm. Rory started to climbed the stairs when Tristan stopped her; " Rory? ", he said. " Yes? ", she responded, turning towards him. Suddenly, Tristan kissed her. Rory was so surprise she couldn't even move. When Tristan baked away from Rory, a smile came across his face; " Some people act on what they feel, when they feel it.", he said, " Good night, Rory."


	12. Chapter 12: California

CHAPTER TWELVE: CALIFORNIA.

Rory touched her lips. Tristan kissed her. She remembered the last time he kissed her. She was siting next to him on a piano bench at some Chilton party. Things were much different back then, of course. She wasn't friends with him. Tristan wasn't much of the relationship type. Maybe he just kissed her for fun. Maybe he just kissed her because he felt like it. Maybe he just kissed her to prove a point. But, maybe he felt something more for her, something real. Yes, maybe.

More than ever, Rory was feeling mixed up. She couldn't even concentrate long enough to grill a toast. The thing burned in the toaster oven. As a light smoke invaded the room, Rory's phone started buzzing. She trashed the burned food in the sink before she ran to her phone, at the other side of the room. " Hello? ", she said, when she picked up the cellphone. " Rory...", Lane, Rory's best friend from Stars Hollow, said, " ...I'm in big trouble."

The last time, Rory saw Lane was three weeks ago, when she was in Stars Hollow for the week-end. Since then, she had been so busy with her school, and well, love affairs. Lane had grown tired of living under her mothers' rules. She called her that night to tell her that she ran away. She had realized that she was still in love with Dave, her old flame from Stars Hollow. Since then, Dave had move to California to attend musical school. Lane told her that she was unhappy with her life, more than ever right now. So, on an impulse, she took a plane to California to go see Dave, leaving her mother a simple note, explaining what she'd done. However, she'd been there for two days and she already ran out of cash and hadn't had the courage to contact Dave. Rory agreed to joined her there for the week-end, using her extra miles to fly there and paying for their return with her mother's emergency credit card. She, of course, called Lorelai and got the permission from her. A trip to California might be just what she needed to clear her head.

Without telling anyone, Rory flew to California to meet her childhood's best friend, Lane Kim. She had rented a room at a Holiday Inn, close to Dave's school. " Why haven't you seen him, yet? ", Rory asked her when she was settling into Lane's room. Lane seemed to be hyperactive, she was walking around the small room. " I don't know! ", shes said, " I miss him so much, but we agreed not to talk anymore." Rory raised her eyebrows; " Who's idea was this? " Lane covered her face with her hands; " Mine. Figured it would be easier." Rory squeezed Lane's arm. She understood her friend. She was too haunted by the ghost of boyfriend's past. " Lane, I think that you should see him. You really should.", she said, " You came here for one reason. At the very least, you'll get some closure." Lane opened up her suitcase and started looking through her clothes; " What should I wear? ", she asked Rory, a excited smile on her face.

While Lane went to meet Dave, Rory took a walk on the beach. She rolled up her jeans and dip her feet into the sea. The water was cold, refreshing and reviving. So much, that she let the water ravished her completely. She closed her eyes, hoping for an answer. The answer that would make the little lost girl that she was, found again.

With her clothes all wet, she walked back to the hotel. By the time she got there, she was almost dry again. However, she was still lost, but still hoping the week-end away would bring her some answers about her life. California was so new to Rory, she almost forgot that it was where Jess was living, now. Jess. He really surprised her, dropping by the way he did. She knew that he was always unpredictable, but he reached a new level of unpredictability. And then, there was Tristan. She didn't know if he was playing some sort of game, or if he really meant it. The whole thing was very disturbing for Rory. She thought that she was over Jess, and that she never would ever be into Tristan. Lately, she had been having so much fun with him. Maybe, she could like him. Maybe, she liked him.

Lane came back with Dave to the hotel. They both seemed ecstatic. Later, Lane told her that Dave wanted to be with here, still. Which meant that Lane wasn't going to go back to Stars Hollow. She was moving in with Dave and his band. She would apply to Dave's school for the next semester, in the meantime, she was going to find a job nearby. Of course, her mother was going to take the news, terribly. Mrs Kim wasn't one to agree to the kind of life Lane wanted to lead. But, Lane was eighteen; there was nothing she could do to stop her anymore.

Rory had plenty of time to think about her situation in California. Things were much more clear right now. On her way back, Rory send a text message to Jess. She needed to see him as soon as she was going to be back to Yale. A week-end away, did her more good than she ever thought possible. She now knew exactly what she wanted to say to Jess. He agreed to meet her at the same park she was siting with Tristan the night he came to her dorm. The night he messed with her head and her heart, once again.

Couple of hours later, Rory sat on that same bench, she was siting a couple of nights ago. She was wearing a blue dress and a white cardigan. The wind made her shiver as she was waiting for Jess to show up. Few second later, he appear from nowhere, and sat next to her. There comes a time in everybody's life where you realize that things changed for the best. For Rory, it was that time. " Jess, I'm glad that you came to see me.", Rory started, " I really am." Jess smiled. " Old feelings were brought to the surface when I saw you, and-hum-It felt so good to reconnect with you.", she said. " It feels _really_ good.", Jess replied, " To be with you." Jess extended his hand to her, and laced his fingers to hers. His touch was warm. " I-hum-I can't.", she said, pushing him away. " Look, I know that I hurt you, but...", Jess said. " No, Jess. This isn't about that.", she revealed, " I'm not in love with you, anymore."


	13. Chapter 13: One

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: ONE.

" Ooh.", Jess said, " Hum-okay." Rory bite her bottom lip, she didn't want to hurt Jess, but for her, it was definitely over. " I shouldn't have come.", he finally added, before grabbing his bag and throwing it on his shoulder. " No, Jess.", Rory said, " I think it's good that you came. Now, we can have closure and move on." Jess nodded. " Yeah.", he said, " I think I'm going to end home, today." The young man leaned in for a hug. Rory hesitated for a second before she finally hugged him. " Ooh.", Jess shouted, as he was about to go, " I-hum-I got you something." Rory's blues eyes widen. She was intrigued, but she didn't feel comfortable, receiving a gift from Jess after what happened earlier, " Jess, no. I can't.", she said. " Well, I can't give this to anybody else, so.", he said, handing her a book. Rory turned it over; it was _Oliver Twist_. She remembered when she meet Jess. The next day, they had a little talk involving Oliver Twist. " I-hum-noted some things." Rory smiled, " Thanks."

Jess Mariano had officially left Rory,s life for good. She felt lighter, because she was now certain that she was over Jess. She was over him. She could finally move on. Even though, she was seeing things clearer right now, there was still something, or someone else bothering her. Tristan. Rory needed to clear things up with him, as soon as possible. How could he just kiss her and run away like that.

Rory was at the library the next night, she hadn't see Tristan since he kissed her, before she left for California, three days ago. She was looking at some textbook for her French class, when she heard some footsteps behind her, she turned around to see who it was. However, there wasn't anybody there. She closed her eyes and sighed. She went back to the textbooks and the footsteps started again. It was late and the library was going to close in a couple of minutes. The place was almost empty. Rory turned around again, still nobody was there. Rory started to feel anxious. She went back to her table and gather her things before heading out of the library. It was dark outside. Rory had to walk for a couple of minutes to get to her dorm. After a few seconds, Rory started to hear the same footsteps that she heard at the library, following her. Rory speed her walk. As she walked faster, the footsteps got faster as well. Soon, Rory find herself running away from what she thought was a dangerous situation. When she finally arrived at her dorm, she took her keys out of her purse. Her hands were shaking so she dropped her keys. When she bended over to get them, when a hand touched her shoulder. Rory jumped. " Rory, what's going on? ", Paris said. " Paris! ", Rory shouter, " You scared me. I thought-I thought-I was followed." Paris burst in laughter; " Yes, by me." Rory frowned; " What?! " Paris unlocked the door for her and Rory. " I saw you at the library when I was looking for textbooks, and I thought we could leave together. When you stormed out, I tried to catch up with you.", Paris explained. Rory was relieved. " Why didn't you call my name? ", Rory asked. " You know that I don't yell at people. Let alone on the streets.", Paris replied. Rory and Paris went to their room, and then, to bed. Lying awake in her bed, Rory stared at the ceiling. She was thinking of Jess and California, and she hated to admit, Tristan. That night, when she finally fell asleep, Rory dreamed about Jess. She dreamed about kissing him. Only when she backed away; it wasn't Jess anymore. It was Tristan.

" Are you avoiding me? ", Tristan asked Rory, a corned smile on his face, when she sat next to him in class. Rory shook her head, " I'm not.", she said. " Haven't seen you in over three days...", he said. Rory opened up her book and notepad. " I was out of town, for the weekend...in California.", he explained. Tristan gasped; " With Jess? " Rory replaced her hair behind her ears, like she always did when she felt nervous. She was about to answer; to tell him that she wasn't with Jess, but the professor started the class.

After class, Rory left immediately while Tristan was called up by the teacher. She was half away to her dorm, when a out-of-breath-Tristan catch up with her. " Hey.", He said, trying to catch his breath, " Going somewhere..." Rory glanced at him, his face was all red. " Not really.", she responded, " Why? " Tristan stopped her by touching her arm. " I-I wanted to talk to you.", he said, " Just, you know, about that thing I did..." Rory looked down, talking about it, made her feel very _very_ uncomfortable. " Look, we don't have to.", she replied, " I get it." Tristan frowned; " What do you get? ", he asked. " You know. It was nothing.", she said. " What makes you think it was nothing?", Tristan responded, looking directly into her eyes. Rory looked away. " C'mon, Tristan! ", she shouted, " I know you." Tristan tried to make eye contact with her again, but failed. " You _know _me?! ", he responded, " What does that mean, Rory?! " Tristan looked confused. " It just-It means that I know you. You were just playing, having fun. " Rory glanced at Tristan. He seemed hurt by what Rory just said. " So, I can't be serious? About you, or about anybody? ", he said, slowly. " It's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying that you were kidding around.", Rory explained.

In the next seconds, the time seemed to stood still. Tristan slowly walked towards Rory. He put his hands on her shoulders, and stared into her eyes for a long moment. His blue eyes were clear. As clear as Rory had ever seen them. Tristan moved his hands from her shoulders to her cheeks. His touch was gentle and soft. Rory wanted to look away, to move away, but she couldn't, she was trapped by his glance. Tristan traced the line of Rory's lips with his thumb. Rory put her right hand on his chest. He didn't know if it was to push him away or to keep him closer. Tristan took a deep breath before kissing her bottom lip slightly. He brushed her brown hair with his hands before leaning it to kiss her again. Tristan pressed his lips on Rory's. She closed her eyes. Without even thinking about it, Rory started to kiss him back. She embraced him completely. Running her hands up and down his back. She got lost into his touch. His body got so close to hers, it looked it they were only one person. One entity.


	14. Chapter 14: First light

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: FIRST LIGHT.

When the morning came, Rory was up before the first light. As she pocked outside her door, she saw the most amazing thing. The sun was rising, lighting up the dark sky. Rory opened the window and let the wind hit her slowly. Brushing her hair off her face, tickling the tip of her nose. Blocking all memories of the night before, images dancing in circles when she closed her eyes, forcing her to keep them open. Rory had to move on, she couldn't stay there, although she wish she could. Staying in the morning light, felt like heaven. Facing Tristan, seemed impossible. She could feel it in the pit of her stomach; everything was about to change. Everything.

Jess had just left Yale. Dean was in Stars Hollow, and to be married soon. Tristan was here, close by. In her eighteen years of life, Rory had loved only twice. Dean and Jess. Jess and Dean. Tristan had been an enemy from Chilton. He was a friend at Yale. The transition had been a challenge, but Rory was glad to count Tristan as one of his friend. She wished that he hadn't changed their relationship last night. She wished things were simple. That they could go back and change it, but they couldn't.

Rory had class with Tristan in twenty minutes. She thought about skipping. She thought about leaving. Going back to Stars Hollow. She thought about a million things. She wanted to disappear; the avoid dealing with the situation she was in. True was; she didn't know what she wanted. She didn't know if she could be with Tristan, ever. She didn't know if she even wanted to. She had all these questions, running around in her mind, and no answers. Rory sighed. She didn't want to have to decide anything right now. She knew that she wanted Tristan as her friend, but as her boyfriend. She didn't know. She had been thinking way to hard.

Paris came back from the washroom. She was humming which was unusual for her roommate. The last couple of weeks, she had been pretty down. Jaime had broke up with her, to pursue a relationship with an older woman, his teacher. Paris greeted Rory;

"Hey! You are awake.", she said, "Aren't you going to be late for class?"

"Hum-no, not really. I think I'll just, ditch.", Rory admitted.

Paris' eyes widen; "Really?", she said, "But, you never miss a class. _We_ never miss a class!"

Rory gasped. Maybe she should have lied to Paris. But, she knew that Paris always saw right through her and that she really couldn't lie to her without her knowing. She hated and loved that about her friend.

"I know.", Rory said, "I just don't feel like it."

Paris sighed; "Well, fine.", she replied, "I'm going to get going. I'll see you later."

Paris left shortly afterwards, leaving Rory free to go back to over-thinking about her life, the choices she had to make and the relationship she wanted to lead.

Rory had hoped the avoid Tristan as long as she didn't know what she wanted to do about him, and about what happened. However, it looked like she wasn't going to be able to do it. Tristan was standing right in front of her. Eager for her to respond to his questions. Eager to know, what was going to happen between them. Rory didn't have any answers for him. She still didn't know. She was still in the dark, while he was trying to hang on the moment that they shared.

"Long time, no see.", he said, his hands in his pockets.

Rory gasped. His stare on her, was making her feel so uncomfortable.

"I know.", she replied.

"I think that we should set things straight.", Tristan said.

Rory looked at him. He was dashing in his charcoal turtleneck and his jeans. His hair were as messy as they could be.

"We don't have to.", Rory responded.

"I think I need to.", Tristan admitted, "Maybe you don't, but I have to."

Rory looked down at her tan mid-heel shoes. Her hands were sweating. She hide them behind her back. It was a desperate attempt to not look nervous.

"I-hum-I like you Rory.", he said,"I really _really_ like you."

Rory cleared her throat, but didn't say anything. After a while, Tristan crossed his arms on his chest.

"Don't you have anything to say...?", he added.

When Rory remained silent, he started walking around in circles.

"Rory!", Tristan shouted, "Say something. Please..."

Rory felt bad for Tristan. He deserved an answer. She just couldn't give one to him already.

"I'm sorry, Tristan.", she said after a while, "I just need to think about it, some more."

Tristan walked up to her. He put his hands on her shoulder. He could feel her shivering. He gently squeezed her shoulders, to reassure her. Rory left up her blue eyes to look at him. His eyes were as clear as she'd ever seen them. They were like the sea, peaceful and comforting. Rory immediately looked away, scared that she didn't, she would get lost into his eyes. Which was dangerous for her. She couldn't loose control. She just couldn't.

"I thought we talk about that already.", he said, "Go with your guts."

Rory bite her bottom lip. Tristan backed away from her. He looked at her for a long moment and smiled.

"I'm going to go.", he said, before turning his back and started walking down the hall.

Rory felt this intense feeling. She didn't want him to leave. She wanted him to stay here, with her. That's all that she knew. She started running after Tristan. When she catch up, she called up his name. Out of breath, she embrace Tristan and kissed him. He burst in laughter;

"Finally," he said, " Mary..."

Rory started laughing; "Don't you call me Mary, ever again."

Rory and Tristan embraced tighter as they resumed their kiss. For the first time, Rory felt like everything was falling into places. Everything was right, again. Just like things were the way they were suppose to be. Like she was meant to be with Tristan, right here, right now. Relieved, Rory allowed herself to be completely with Tristan, her mind was free of questioning. She had all the answers she ever asked herself. She finally had some light on her life.


End file.
